Doctor Lu Always Wants To Steal My Baby! Chapter 31
byChapter 31: The “Room”
“Dad?”
“Dad—”
Ah, sitting on the waiting sofa, He Chen snapped back to reality, looking at He Leyan who was tugging his arm across the glass overlooking the special ward on the first floor. “What is it?”
“It’s our turn.” He Leyan gestured toward the nurse in white standing beside them.
“Sorry, hello.” He Chen immediately stood up.
“Hello.” The nurse’s eyes lingered on his face for a moment before quickly looking away. “Elder Fang’s previous patient has finished treatment. It’s Leyan’s turn now.”
She spoke, guiding He Chen and He Leyan toward the room.
He Chen held He Leyan’s small hand and followed the nurse. Halfway, he suddenly spoke in a low voice, “Leyan, are you really okay?”
“I’m fine. You’ve asked several times.” He Leyan said in a childish yet steady voice. He had cried earlier only because he was too happy. He would never cry again!
“But you called me again…” He Chen said.
“What?” He Leyan looked up with his small face.
“You called me ‘Dad’!” He Chen’s eyes were deep and bright.
“…” He Leyan’s small face was flushed, and he gripped He Chen’s hand tightly.
He Chen raised the corners of his mouth high, holding his son tightly as they entered the room of the psychological consultant, Elder Fang. He then composed his smile and said formally and seriously, “Hello, Elder Fang. Director Lu introduced us—”
“Hello, hello. You must be Leyan’s father, Commander He—” Elder Fang looked up from his desk, and upon seeing He Chen’s appearance, he paused.
“It’s me, Elder Fang.” He Chen extended his right hand forward.
“Ah, yes. Seeing your appearance, I momentarily… found you familiar. Excuse my lapse.” Elder Fang said, looking at He Chen again. He wasn’t surprised by He Chen’s striking looks, but looking at this face, he suddenly thought of an old acquaintance.
In fact, the two weren’t particularly alike; the acquaintance wasn’t as handsome as He Chen. Yet, there was an indescribable similarity…
“Why are you wearing a hat?” Elder Fang asked. He felt he might see more clearly if the hat was removed.
“Ahem, this—”
“My dad has a cold and is sensitive to the cold!” He Leyan spoke up proactively.
He Chen gave his cub a strange look. What was going on today? He was genuinely flattered.
“I see.” Elder Fang naturally didn’t believe a Great Warrior would catch a cold and be sensitive to it, but he didn’t expose him. Instead, he looked at Leyan, showing a kind smile. “Leyan, come here to Grandpa.”
“It’s been a while. Grandpa missed you terribly.” As he spoke, he skillfully checked He Leyan’s overall condition. “The child is doing very well. His eyes are bright, and his heart is calm.”
He then looked at He Chen, as if asking what the problem was with the child.
“He was a little startled outside yesterday and hasn’t been sleeping well.” He Chen quickly explained.
“Didn’t Director Lu provide comfort treatment?” Elder Fang asked.
“He did.”
“Then the problem isn’t major. Since you, as the father, are worried, I’ll just chat with Leyan.”
Elder Fang said, leading Leyan into the inner room for the consultation, leaving He Chen to wait outside.
Half a Blue Star hour later, Elder Fang led Leyan out. “The problem is minor. Leyan is generally healthy and full of vitality!”
The old man actually intended this sentence for Leyan. Sometimes, a child is a blank slate; whatever information you give him, he will manifest that energy.
“However, he has lived in the hospital since childhood, and caregivers are constantly rotating. He lacks a bit of familial comfort and contact. You just need to spend more time with him normally.”
“Yes, Elder Fang.” He Chen solemnly noted this down, yet felt something was slightly off. Who did “you” refer to?
Leyan only had one father—his official father.
He Chen restrained himself from correcting him. “Thank you. We’ll take our leave now.”
He Chen said, taking He Leyan’s hand and standing up.
“Wait a moment.” Elder Fang spoke up. “Commander He, could you take off your hat?”
He Chen frowned slightly.
He naturally didn’t want to display his wolf ears in public, but not wanting to didn’t mean he couldn’t. Elder Fang was recommended by Lu Changqing and had just treated He Leyan. He Chen didn’t dwell on it and lowered his hat.
Elder Fang finally understood why He Chen wore a hat.
“Riot period, fused with your spiritual body?” He wasn’t surprised and even smiled at He Chen.
“Please excuse me.” He Chen replied calmly. “You mentioned earlier that I resembled someone?”
“Yes, an old friend.” Elder Fang said.
Compared to the superior lines of his full face revealed after removing the hat, it was He Chen’s calm demeanor at this moment that made him feel more similar to that acquaintance.
“Are you referring to someone from the He family?” He Chen asked again.
“Ah, indeed.” It was an officer belonging to the He family. Elder Fang had been saved by him during an accident…
Wait, He family, officer? Elder Fang suddenly frowned.
He Chen’s background was no secret; even Elder Fang had heard that he was the child of He Yayun and a criminal after a one-night stand. In contrast, He Siyuan had an officer father with a clean background…
“Then perhaps there is a blood relation.” Knowing it was a He family member, He Chen lost interest, put his hat back on, and bid farewell to Elder Fang again.
“Wait, one more thing.” Elder Fang stopped him again. “I’m ashamed to say, my Fang family nephew has wronged Commander He.”
Fang family nephew? He Chen paused. “Fang Wen’zhuo? Is he your—”
“He is my grand-nephew. That child lacks stability. He was unworthy of you, Commander He. Please don’t mind it. The Fang family owes you one, and we will certainly repay it if you have need.”
“You are too kind. Marriage requires mutual consent. If it doesn’t work out, we separate. There’s no debt to repay.”
If no one had brought it up, He Chen would have almost forgotten the man. Even with Elder Fang mentioning it, he still didn’t give it much thought. After leaving the psychology treatment area, he checked the time and the weather outside. “It looks like rain. Shall we go to Dadbi’s office to wait out the rain?”
He Leyan looked at the sky outside. He couldn’t tell it was going to rain, nor did he understand why rain would prevent them from flying home, but he naturally had no objection to going to Dadbi’s place.
He nodded happily, was picked up by He Chen, and rode the elevator down to the first floor.
At the same time, He Siyuan had just stood up from Lu Changqing’s consultation room, greeting Lu Changqing as he walked in.
“Director Lu, good morning. Assistant Chen said you have time now, so I rushed over.”
“I only had time today. I apologize for the wait, Mr. He.” Lu Changqing glanced at He Siyuan, walked to his seat, and picked up the connection wire.
He Siyuan felt Lu Changqing’s glance was a bit cold, but considering he had just come out of that kind of ward, he thought it was normal.
Lu Changqing’s words were also a bit strange—He Siyuan hadn’t “waited long.” In fact, he hadn’t planned on seeing Lu Changqing again so soon. Previously, it was extremely difficult to schedule even one treatment session with the director, but recently, he had been inexplicably lucky.
However, this small oddity was quickly overlooked by He Siyuan.
“Director Lu, after the brief treatment last time, I feel much more stable. Perhaps my condition isn’t that serious? I wonder if you have a new plan for calling me over this time?” He Siyuan asked expectantly and cautiously.
“I have an idea. I need to check the state of your spiritual domain. If the condition allows, perhaps we won’t need to take the regression step.”
“Really?” He Siyuan was overjoyed! “Thank you so much, Director Lu!”
“Don’t rush. It’s not certain yet.” Lu Changqing said indifferently, his finger resting on the connection button.
The surroundings darkened, then brightened again. He Siyuan realized that this time, he hadn’t lost consciousness but had appeared within his own spiritual domain.
“Actually, a person’s spiritual domain is also equivalent to a ‘room’.”
Lu Changqing, standing far behind He Siyuan, suddenly spoke, causing He Siyuan to turn back in surprise.
“Mr. He’s room is very magnificent,” Lu Changqing said.
“Not at all. You flatter me.” He Siyuan replied humbly. In reality, his spiritual domain was far from just a “room”; it was a magnificent palace. He had spent a great deal of effort constructing every brick and tile here.
“The weapon Mr. He is proficient with is a whip?” Lu Changqing suddenly asked.
What? This irrelevant question stunned He Siyuan.
He did prefer using a whip, but mostly in private, rarely displaying it publicly. How did Lu Changqing know? He Siyuan was confused and slightly guarded, but looking into Lu Changqing’s swirling eyes, he somehow answered truthfully, “Yes.”
“Then let’s try it with this.” Lu Changqing said calmly.
Try what?
Before He Siyuan could react, a black long whip suddenly appeared in Lu Changqing’s hand.
“Let’s test if Mr. He’s ‘room’ is stable enough.”
Lu Changqing spoke, and with what seemed like a casual flick—
The black long whip grew against the wind, multiplying from one into several sharp iron chains, flashing with faint blue electric arcs, swiftly lashing toward the magnificent palace walls!
“Crash!”
Countless cracks spread across the palace walls, growing larger amidst the rattling and shaking.
“You—you—” He Siyuan was shocked and furious, but he retained a sliver of rationality: unless he was insane, Lu Changqing wouldn’t attack him without reason.
This sliver of rationality prompted He Siyuan to finally endure it. “What is the meaning of this, Director Lu?”
“To see if Mr. He’s spiritual domain can withstand my new treatment plan,” Lu Changqing said.
“And the result—” He Siyuan asked, clutching his head, his face turning pale. The consequences of the spiritual domain shock were manifesting.
“It’s not satisfactory,” Lu Changqing replied.
The iron chains flashed, and the countless divided whips transformed into a different, more flexible texture. “I’ll lower the requirements and try again.”
He spoke, whipping a second time, neither showing off skill nor complexity. The fierce whip shadows lashed out directly!
After billions of lashes, He Siyuan felt as if his soul was shattering, the pain leaving him dazed. Lu Changqing stood with his hands down, his expression serious. “I regret to say, it seems we can only proceed with regression…”
*
“Director, Commander He and young master Leyan are waiting for you inside.”
Hearing the assistant’s report before reaching his office, Lu Changqing paused for a moment and pushed the door open.
He Chen and He Leyan were sitting and lying down, respectively, on the carpet in his reception area, playing a board game head-to-head. Hearing the door open, He Leyan was still concentrating on his thoughts, but He Chen looked up at him.
“Are you done with the treatment?” He Chen asked, subtly observing Lu Changqing.
Spiritual power riots were extremely dangerous, especially for high-risk patients. Their spiritual domains might be full of violent turbulence, completely uncontrolled desires for slaughter and destruction—the so-called “pollution”—which could infect the therapist connected to them like a virus.
However, Lu Changqing showed no signs of abnormality.
He Chen felt much more at ease—he wasn’t worried about Lu Changqing, of course. He knew Lu Changqing was powerful. He was just, well, a little curious.
“The rain is too heavy. We didn’t have anywhere else to go temporarily,” he explained why he and He Leyan were there.
Only then did Lu Changqing notice the rain.
Outside the window, clusters of green plants stretched their branches and leaves, drinking the sweet rain. It was a good downpour.
“It’s noon. Are you hungry?” Lu Changqing took off his coat, washed his hands, and walked behind He Leyan. He glanced at the unusually simple yet intensely deadlocked virtual chessboard and smiled, rubbing He Leyan’s head.
This touch gave He Leyan an idea, and he finally made a move. Now it was He Chen’s turn to “ponder deeply” over the board, while He Leyan reported, “Uncle Chen asked us earlier, and we chose the cafeteria set meal. We chose one for Dadbi too.”
“Thank you. Let’s wash our hands first, and we can play after eating.” Lu Changqing pulled him up.
He Chen exchanged a look with Lu Changqing, feeling greatly relieved, and quickly put away the chessboard.
Assistant Chen brought the food in. While setting the table, He Chen pricked up his ears, listening to Lu Changqing and He Leyan talk:
“What did you do this morning?”
“I went to the pediatrics department with Father Wen, and also saw Grandpa Fang. Dadbi, what is marriage?”
Hmm? He Chen’s wolf ears twitched.
“Marriage is when two adults choose to live together and take care of each other. Why did you think to ask that?”
“No reason,” He Leyan lowered his voice. “Is it true that someone didn’t want to marry my dad?”
He Chen, whose hearing was exceptionally strong due to his four ears: …
You are worrying about things a three-year-old shouldn’t worry about.
“Your father is excellent, but not everyone is smart enough to see his goodness,” Lu Changqing replied calmly.
“Cough!” He Chen’s skin was neither thick nor thin. Hearing the compliment, he felt it was true, yet was slightly embarrassed.
“Also, if someone marries your father, they become your other father, so your father must choose carefully who he marries.”
He was overthinking it. He didn’t plan on marrying anyone. What if they tried to steal his custody rights?
Thinking this, He Chen opened his lunch box, only to hear He Leyan say something astonishing: “Then can Dadbi marry my dad?”
My ancestor! What was this now? Hearing the silence from the restroom, He Chen put down his lunch box and shouted, “Food’s ready!”
Lu Changqing walked out, holding He Leyan’s hand, and looked at him placidly. “Your voice is strong. No fever anymore?”
Fever. His ears were burning hot.
But He Chen refused to discuss this with Lu Changqing. He lifted He Leyan onto the high chair, handed him a small fork, and spoke to Lu Changqing about serious matters in a solemn tone. “Senior Brother, I have something to do this afternoon and evening. Can Leyan stay with you?”
“Yes,” Lu Changqing agreed first, then asked, “What is it?”
“A gathering with classmates.” He Chen seemed to have prepared the answer long ago.
Lu Changqing suddenly remembered that He Chen always had good social skills and was never short of friends. Whenever he called him, he could hear a noisy crowd on the other end.
However—
“Going to a gathering looking like this?” Lu Changqing looked up at He Chen’s wolf ears.
“…The hat covers it. It’s not obvious,” He Chen said.
Lu Changqing glanced at his flickering eyes, paused, and pulled out a very small syringe, handing it to him. “This might be useful. Try it after eating.”
“So fast? Aren’t you supposed to run experiments?” He Chen asked in a low voice while mixing the salmon fried rice for He Leyan.
“I thought of a medication targeting your symptoms. Tests confirmed it’s effective.”
“What medication?” He Chen asked.
“An inhibitor.”
“Inhibitor?” He Chen frowned at Lu Changqing. He had tried inhibitors, and they hadn’t worked at all.
“A Misterian inhibitor, to suppress the rut period.”
Lu Changqing leaned close to He Chen’s ear, likely to prevent He Leyan from hearing.
He was very close, and He Chen’s ear tickled, causing him to be distracted for a moment before he understood what Lu Changqing meant.
With a “boom,” as if a pink bomb had exploded inside him, He Chen’s face and neck flushed in patches of red.
Lu Changqing looked away, unscrewed a bottle of iced water delivered with the meal, and placed it next to He Chen’s hand. He Chen took it and gulped down two large mouthfuls, then reached for the inhibitor.
“There are side effects. It might reduce your perception,” Lu Changqing warned.
“For how long?”
“About six hours.”
Six hours was fine. He Chen acted decisively, picking up the syringe and immediately injecting it into his vein.
He was indeed not going to a gathering. Lu Changqing narrowed his eyes for a moment but didn’t expose him, even shielding He Chen from He Leyan’s view.
*
He Chen was indeed not going to a gathering, but he did meet an old classmate.
“Him, a hacking expert? Are you sure?”
Seeing the big, simple-looking guy led by his old classmate Shen Xian, He Chen was skeptical.
“Genuine article. When have I ever lied to you?”
“Three hundred and sixty-five days a year,” He Chen replied.
“Fine, you don’t believe me, huh? Liu’er, stop eating—” Shen Xian pulled the snack out of the big guy’s mouth. “Get to work. Show him something real.”
The big guy didn’t speak. He glanced at He Chen, opened a physical computer that looked particularly miniature compared to his size, and his thick fingers tapped rapidly and skillfully. A series of images appeared on the screen—
“Damn, are you a pervert stalker!” Shen Xian scrolled through the photos on the screen and looked at He Chen with a lewd smile.
He Chen’s face heated up when he saw the photos, but his voice was steady. “Nonsense! How can taking pictures of my own cub be called stalking!”
The screen displayed a sixteen-grid collage, each grid showing a photo of He Leyan. Most were of his various sleeping poses, including full shots and close-ups, featuring his soft, chubby face and long eyelashes. He Chen had even taken many pictures of his little feet and specially edited them with cute stickers and cheap special effects…
“Turn it off, buddy. Liu’er, right? I know you’re good. Let’s focus on the real business.” These photos were He Chen’s private collection. He had no intention of letting others admire them, especially the snarky Shen Xian.
“I think you’re obsessed with the kid,” Shen Xian said, but then pulled out a large red envelope. “Where is the kid? Where are you hiding him? I’m waiting to meet him.”
He Chen first snatched the red envelope and stuffed it into his pocket before saying, “He’s with his Dadbi. I’ll let you meet him later.”
“Which Dadbi?” Shen Xian muttered, finding the sticky title strange.
“A doctor.”
He Chen said, pulling up a photo of Xiang Heng’s sister, Xiang Zhi, from his terminal and showing it to the big guy:
“I need to find negative information about this person. It could be… videos, or photos, or maybe recordings. Something that, once exposed, would pose a serious threat to her and potentially ruin her reputation. This item might be held by Liangpeng Entertainment Company, or directly by Xia Jingpeng of Liangpeng Group. Can you check with this information?”
“I’ll try.” The big guy didn’t promise anything, nor did he say no. He sat in front of the computer and started operating with rapid clicks.
“Who is this? Why are you going to such lengths to help her?” Shen Xian asked, then understood after seeing the information displayed on the big guy’s screen. “Xiang Zhi… related to Xiang Heng? Did something happen to his family?”
“Where is Xiang Heng? Why didn’t he come?”
“Can you be quiet?” He Chen didn’t want to answer Shen Xian’s endless questions and focused on watching the big guy work.
Shen Xian squinted at him, saying lazily, “It won’t be fast. Your information is vague, and the Xia family is a huge power. Their firewalls are thick. It won’t be easy to slip in.”
“How long will it take?” He Chen asked the big guy directly.
“One hour. If I can get in, I will. If not, I won’t.” the big guy said.
“He means if he can’t get in within an hour, he’ll be discovered, and we should pack up and scram,” Shen Xian added.
“You scram.” He Chen said, looking at the big guy and his computer. “How about we move somewhere else?”
This was his new house, and Leyan hadn’t even stayed here for a day!
“Just kidding. Why are you getting more naive as you get older?” Shen Xian scoffed, but halfway through his laugh, He Chen physically restrained him.
“Damn, you almost died underground three years ago! Why are you stronger now?” Shen Xian yelled angrily after a brief scuffle.
He Chen pinned him down and answered irrelevantly, “Keep this matter confidential, or I’ll expose the time you used your spiritual body to peep at others in school.”
“Get lost! I’m helping you out of goodwill, and you don’t trust me?”
He Chen paused, then released him. “I trust you. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry my foot! I’ll say it again, I wasn’t peeping at others, I was peeping at the test paper, the test paper!”
*
True to his word, the big guy successfully hacked into the Xia family corporation five minutes before the hour mark. However, the data comparison yielded nothing.
He spent more time infiltrating Xia Jingpeng’s personal terminal, but by nightfall, he still hadn’t found any useful information.
“Can’t find it. It might be hidden in a physically isolated space,” the big guy explained in his simple voice.
“Speak human,” Shen Xian said.
“It might be on a USB drive, locked in a safe.”
Shen Xian looked at He Chen. “How do we handle that?”
“Can you check where his house has a safe?” He Chen asked after a moment of contemplation.
“Breaking and entering?” Shen Xian looked at He Chen. “Why bother? Just take care of the person directly.”
“That’s Plan C,” He Chen said matter-of-factly.
“Are you serious?” Shen Xian put down the hammer in his hand—he, a major general, was being forced to assemble furniture for He Chen.
“I’m always serious.” He Chen knelt on one knee, tightening the last screw on the bedside slide. “I wasn’t putting all my eggs in your basket anyway.”
He glanced at the time, a cold light flashing in his eyes. “Chu Yunqi is hosting a party tonight. He invited me, and that Xia Jingpeng will be there. It’s a good chance to probe him.”
“What kind of deep hatred forces you to this extreme?” Shen Xian asked half-jokingly, then sobered up when he saw He Chen’s expression. “What did they do to Xiang Heng?”
“The Xia family is actually backed by your He family, right? Is this related to what happened three years ago?”
He Chen didn’t answer. He packed up his tools, stood up, glanced at the big guy’s side, and told Shen Xian, “If there are no results, forget it. Thanks for today.”
In fact, he had always preferred Plan C.
“Today isn’t over yet.” Shen Xian cracked his knuckles and stood up. “I have an invitation too. Count me in for the fun.”
“Found something,” the big guy spoke up then. “Xia Jingpeng has thirteen properties in Star City, and five of them are permanent residences. All five have safes.”
The big guy looked up. “Which one should we check?”
Shen Xian and He Chen exchanged glances.
“No need to choose. This is fate.”
Shen Xian said, about to tell the big guy to pack up, but the big guy added, “Someone else is also invading this Xia’s personal terminal and copied his biometric passwords. I copied a set too.”
“What biometric passwords?”
“Palm print, iris, voice print,” the big guy explained. “They might be useful for opening the safe.”
“I don’t know who it is. Looks like a novice. I even helped him cover his tracks.”
*
“Remember, you are the new assistant who arrived last month. Assistant Wang went to deal with the matter at Villa No. 3, and you are temporarily filling in. Miss Xie is drunk and insists on seeing CEO Xia, or she threatens to jump off the roof. You didn’t know how to handle it, so you settled her in CEO Xia’s suite and asked CEO Xia to deal with it.”
In the dimly lit hotel suite, Xiang Heng lowered his head, meticulously arranging the items on his body while giving instructions.
“What if he doesn’t come?”
The young man he was instructing asked nervously.
“He will come. Miss Xie is a natural beauty, and their relationship is passionate right now. He won’t bear not to come.”
Xiang Heng said calmly, standing up and adjusting the collar of the nervous youth. “Don’t be afraid. Lead him to the next room, and you immediately return here to change and leave. I’ve taught you the steps and route. Do you want to review it again?”
“No need.” Xiang Zhe shook his head, his palms sweating nervously.
“Good boy.” Xiang Heng looked at his younger brother, who rarely left the house. “You’ve grown up. You can stand on your own now.”
“Brother,” Xiang Zhe felt increasingly uneasy. “My fake passwords can only last five minutes. After five minutes, the system will detect them and trigger an alarm. You—”
“I know. Five minutes is enough. Don’t worry.” Xiang Heng said, looking at the monitoring screen behind Xiang Zhe, frowning for a moment. “Why is he here too?”
“Who?” Xiang Zhe turned to look at the screen like a startled bird.
“He Chen. You recognize him. He came to our house for dinner.” Xiang Heng explained. “The one next to him is Shen Xian, the adopted son of the former Imperial Marshal Shen Xingzhou. They—”
“Are they enemies too?” Xiang Zhe asked nervously and angrily.
“No.” Xiang Heng looked at his brother in surprise, smiled for a moment, then mostly composed himself. “Shen Xian is a friend. He Chen, he is not an enemy. He is someone you can trust.”
“Xiao Zhe, remember his face,” Xiang Heng said, his gaze deep, looking at the face on the screen that was smiling and greeting people. “If something happens to me, find him, pledge your loyalty to him, and protect him, forever.”